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what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Gerhardt ()
Date: June 15, 2006 12:58AM

what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?

(or is it pretty much everywhere?) :)

thanks!

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: derek ()
Date: June 15, 2006 01:23AM

i usually stick to west county so i'm biased but:

66 west after the fairfax county parkway into prince william county during rush hour: ridiculous. don't bother even trying.

route 28 south between route 50 and interstate 66: standstill for the two miles before the light at walney road during rush hour. although the new interchange at route 28 and westfields blvd has helped things a bit.

route 50 west heading out of chantilly: also horrible, but i'm sure not nearly as bad as 66 or 495 or route 7 in other parts of the county.

just my 2 cents (canadian)

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Paul ()
Date: June 15, 2006 02:34AM

In AM rush, the inner loop going towards Tysons. I'm glad my commute went the opposite direction.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: pgens ()
Date: June 15, 2006 09:22AM

derek Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> route 28 south between route 50 and interstate 66:
> standstill for the two miles before the light at
> walney road during rush hour. although the new
> interchange at route 28 and westfields blvd has
> helped things a bit.

Actually I think it has made it worse. It just rushes traffic to the next light... at least when there was a light at Westfields it broke up the traffic a little.

The problem with these grade changes is when they make one they really need to do it along the entire 28 corridor. I will say that getting from one side of Westfields to the other across 28 is faster even though now that whole westfields/stonecroft area is now totally fUx0r3d.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: June 15, 2006 11:23AM

What's amazing are these people who sit in the 2 mile backup on Walney Road (on the east side of 28, just north of 66) when they could just drive across the new Westfields road bridge to cross 28.

(A), that would get them out of traffic congestion, (B) it would help traffic on 28.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: stinkypoon ()
Date: June 15, 2006 12:40PM

66 eastbound in the mornings gets pretty bad around rte 50.

In the afternoon rush hour, getting onto the outter loop from 7 east and onto 66 west can be a disaster. Sometimes it takes two minutes, sometimes 40. Holiday season is a different story altogether...

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: trickieL ()
Date: June 15, 2006 12:52PM

In my opinion, Fairfax City at 236 (Main street) gets pretty bad and not just during rush hour either. They are constructing a new Town Center and reconfiguring the road so I hope it improves.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: June 15, 2006 12:56PM

I remember that mess. I used to take 7 to Gallows Rd. to 29 to Nutley St. and get on 66 there.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Reston Pieces Loves da Cock Soup ()
Date: June 15, 2006 01:29PM

What part of the county has the best traffic congestion

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Fairfax MF-er ()
Date: June 16, 2006 03:22PM

Any road that has an "I" in front of it is a fucking mess around here. Only dumbasses line up on 66 and 395 and wait for hours to get somewhere. There are tons of back roads and side streets to get you around the area. If you are spending two to four hours a day in traffic, I suggest you buy a map, plot out two or three backroad routes and try them out until you find a more reasonable commute.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: June 16, 2006 06:37PM

"What part of the county has the best traffic congestion"

when you don't think throught he things you write, they don't make sense, you dog dropping.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Hawaii ()
Date: June 16, 2006 10:35PM

True, the whole area gets congested at rush hour. I usually try to work my schedule to avoid the traffic, if I'm on the road, usually I stop and get dinner around 5:30-6:00, just to wait it out a little. It's been mentioned before, but the one area I usually get stuck in is on 66 west at the Manassas exit, which can back up for miles.

One of the worst intersections that I know of is in Alexandria, the intersection of Little River Tnpk & Beauregard St. Freakin' parking lot nearly all afternoon/evening.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: July 08, 2006 10:06PM

Rt 28 at new braddock, esp. during school year. A bus wil come through, even on a green, but the back up from old mi rd light is all the way to new braddock and so bus gets stuck in the middle and blocks road for us NB people on OUR green and then we wait 15 mins for the next one. Anywhere going west in PM, vice versa in AM. I waited 2 freakin hours to go to Manassas on Friday to get to the lowes there (before they built the one in Chantilly) on Rt 29 in hot sun.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Tim45 ()
Date: July 09, 2006 07:48PM

Havent driven it in years but would have to say Route One from Alexandria to Lorton unless there has been some drastic change. It is one long strip of stores and apartments. Then add to it the united nations school of driving and you have one big mess.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: D-FENS ()
Date: July 10, 2006 09:22AM

"Pardon me, but that's bullshit. You see, I don't think anything's wrong with the street! I think you're just trying to justify your inflated budgets! I know how it works! If you don't spend the projected amount this year, you don't get the same amount next year! Now, I want you to admit, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE STREET!"

"I'm going home! So clear a path, you motherfuckers! Clear a path! I'M GOING HOME!"

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 10, 2006 12:22PM

I really don't see much of a backup at Rt 28 and New Braddock, usually the backup heading south (when I come through there, between 6:30 and 7:00pm) is at Rt 28 and Walney/Braddock Rd just north of I66. And sometimes it's backed up all the way to the Westfields bridge.

As far as road work that is apparently being done just to spend money, I see much more of that in states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois than I ever do in Virginia.

At least in Virginia, when they do road work it is usually obvious what they're doing and they finish it.

In Illinois, for example, they're always working on I294 and I290 when I drive through there and they never seem to finish whatever it is they're working on. I've seen road construction on those two highways every single time I've driven through there (in summer) for the last 10 years or so.

I couldn't tell you where in I495, I95, or I66 to find a closed lane right now but I'll bet that one of I294 or I290 has at least one.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: July 10, 2006 12:34PM

There's usually a closed lane on at least 1 portion of teh beltway at any given time, but only for a day or so.

Rt 28 should just be avoided at all cost. It's backed up from westfield all the way to Liberia Avenue on any weekday evening rush. Especially friday. Plus the sun is in your eyes.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 10, 2006 12:46PM

They need to widen 28 to 6 lanes.

It's already 6 lanes between MP and Liberia (which is in Manassas and Manassas Park, and so it didn't depend on VDOT), but only 4 lanes between New Braddock and MP (which means it has to wait till VDOT gets around to it).

They also need to make the I66/28 interchange a full one.

Isn't it just amazing that the screwups in Manassas Park could manage to widen their part of 28 to 6 lanes? hah.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: July 10, 2006 12:58PM

Thats an interesting point...

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 10, 2006 01:20PM

It is. They also completely rebuilt the Manassas Drive/28 intersection..I don't know if you saw it before.

By the way, I was being a bit sarcastic when I used the term "screwups" because I saw the Manassas Park bashing in the other thread. The work they did on 28 should servce as evidence that they're NOT screwups.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: July 10, 2006 02:29PM

Yeah, I remeber back when it was not so good, next to the mexican restaurant, right? and the car dealer, and apex and crown and sheetz?

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 10, 2006 06:12PM

That's the one. You'll notice also that they did it in concrete (portland cement concrete) which, although initially more expensive, is a lot longer lasting than asphalt, and much more pothole-resistant.

VDOT apparently can't figure out how to do concrete right, so they don't use it much.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: ADam ()
Date: July 10, 2006 09:43PM

I love the improvments to 28, non-rush hour its a breeze to drive on.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: July 11, 2006 09:40AM

I hate driving on concrete at high speed. You notice it makes a lot more road noise than asphalt, and also due to the expansion joints, theres a bump every second. The portion of I66 between Rt 29 and 495 is concrete.

It also takes longer to lay down than asphalt.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 11, 2006 10:23AM

I prefer concrete--at least you don't get areas where a chunk of the top layer has broken off (it's really funny when it's above a paint marking on the layer below, leading you to wonder just how many layers of asphalt are on the road!). If the expansion joints are done right, there are no bumps.

In addition, it uses less fuel to drive on concrete than asphalt. Concrete is harder and does not flex when you drive on it.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 11, 2006 10:25AM

Regarding expansion joints, one of the worst things that VDOT has done is to put asphalt over concrete. I believe parts of I95 and 29 are like this, along with parts of route 1. They did this instead of fixing the concrete. The result is that the expansion joints in the concrete below cause the asphalt on top to crack exactly above. This is known as "reflective cracking".

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: July 12, 2006 12:12PM

im not positive, but i think concrete gets colder faster and thus prone to frozen water. i could be wrong but it's something to consider.


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 14, 2006 10:13AM

Not sure about that, but concrete can be grooved for better traction in the wet. Actually, I thought I read somewhere that concrete provides better traction in the wet than asphalt does anyway.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Dude ()
Date: July 14, 2006 11:43AM

Concrete is better.
Thats why they use it on runways.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 14, 2006 12:00PM

I saw a warning on a set of jackstands that warns not to use them on asphalt.

I wonder..anyone ever heard about someone who set a car on jackstands on asphalt and had the asphalt give way?

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 14, 2006 12:01PM

My driveway is concrete (thankfully).

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: July 14, 2006 02:24PM

Think about it...You can break apart asphalt with your bare hands (a thinish piece) but no deal with concrete. Reinforced that is. Unreinforced concrete is bad. Roadways and runways are built with reinforced; your driveway may not be.

Reinforceing concrete involves pouring the concrete over sets of steel bars. runways are about 12 feet thick, 8 of which are filled with steel.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 14, 2006 02:34PM

Asphalt also has this tendency to move slowly under pressure. I bet a jackstand (with a car on top) sitting on asphalt leaves an indentation after a while.

The aforementioned Manassas Drive/28 intersection had ruts in the asphalt where cars were sitting waiting for the light.

Pretty sure my drivway has rebar in it.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Gravis ()
Date: July 14, 2006 04:03PM

brianl703 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pretty sure my drivway has rebar in it.


it does... had my carport ripped up and there is a grid of it inside of the concrete


"the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."095042938540

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: RESton Peace ()
Date: July 14, 2006 04:33PM

needed a place to hide the bodies THAT badly, dude?

Shoulda just asked me, I know a dude with acres.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: ComicRelief ()
Date: July 14, 2006 05:11PM

brianl703 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder..anyone ever heard about someone who set
> a car on jackstands on asphalt and had the asphalt
> give way?


Never heard about it with a car on a jackstand, but I know that some people who ride larger motorcycles (Yamaha Road Warriors, BMW K1200s, etc.) will keep a small 2x4 with them in case they are forced to park on asphalt during a hot summer day. Sucks going into a store for a minute just to come back outside and see your bike laying on the ground with a hole in the pavement from the stand.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: come on folks ()
Date: July 14, 2006 08:28PM

KeepOnTruckin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Reinforceing concrete involves pouring the
> concrete over sets of steel bars. runways are
> about 12 feet thick, 8 of which are filled with
> steel.

No way concrete runways are 12 FEET thick. But, they are considerably thicker than a road....maybe 12-18 INCHES.

I've never seen a concrete (residential) driveway built with rebar...they roll out this heavy guage wire mesh stuff......better than nothing but not as strong as rebar.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: brianl703 ()
Date: July 14, 2006 08:54PM

The Beltway is pretty thick.

9 to 10 inches of concrete, and 6 inches of asphalt:

When the I-495 Capital Beltway in Virginia was widened 1974-1977, they
did a great job. The original road was almost entirely reinforced
concrete pavement (except for about a mile). The new lanes (1 each way
east of I-95/I-395, 2 each way north of I-95/I-395) were added, and
identical design reinforced concrete pavement was used. It was 9 or 10
inches thick, on top of a deep aggregate base course. The full
shoulders, right and left, were given a base of 6" plain concrete
pavement. The original lanes had extensive concrete patching on spalled
and cracked joint areas. The entire roadway and shoulders were overlaid
with 4 inches of hot-mix asphalt base course. Finally, a 2 inch hot-mix
asphalt surface course was applied.

This is from this usenet post:
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.transport.road/msg/42fc64a6126682e0?dmode=source&hl=en

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: KeepOnTruckin ()
Date: July 22, 2006 01:40PM

Yes, 12 feet. go to any airport making a runway and you will see this huge hole where it will be.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: WashingToneLocian ()
Date: July 22, 2006 05:06PM

I don't know if runways are 12-feet thick. However, it stands to reason they would be a hell of a lot thicker than the Beltway, given all the tonnage that comes dropping out of the sky on them. In addition, runways have to be pristine - none of the cracking and crap that comes up from a typical asphalt road - or you will have crap flying up into engines during take-off and landing.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: TheMeeper ()
Date: July 22, 2006 05:32PM

"When the Denver International Airport was built, it took 2.5-million cubic yards of concrete to create five 12,000-foot runways, plus taxiways and aprons. First, 6 feet of compacted soil was put down; then, a foot-deep layer of soil was spread, topped by an 8-inch-thick cement-treated base; that was followed by 17 inches of concrete paving. "

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: WashingToneLocian ()
Date: July 22, 2006 06:00PM

TheMeeper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "When the Denver International Airport was built,
> it took 2.5-million cubic yards of concrete to
> create five 12,000-foot runways, plus taxiways and
> aprons. First, 6 feet of compacted soil was put
> down; then, a foot-deep layer of soil was spread,
> topped by an 8-inch-thick cement-treated base;
> that was followed by 17 inches of concrete paving.
> "


Not quite 12 feet, but pretty damn close.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: WashingToneLocian ()
Date: July 22, 2006 06:01PM

Nevermind. I thought it said feet, not inches.

Yeah. Not 12 feet, but more than you would do for a typical road.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Ren Höek ()
Date: July 22, 2006 08:19PM

Elm Street and 53rd......

Dumbass.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Daryl Elite ()
Date: July 23, 2006 12:20PM

I've been all over the county, and while not the worst during rush hour, Route 1 from Alexandria to Lorton is CONSISTANTLY congested... all day, everyday.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Kev ()
Date: July 31, 2006 10:13PM

I take a series of turns on side streets from Fairfax City to Tysons that gets me there in under 15 minutes in the AM. If I took 123 (straight shot) or the beltway, it's a least half an hour.. MINIMUM. 29 is bad already and they are putting a light at Ellenwood that should just about back up traffic through Pan Am to the beltway. Good job planners! They already block the box at Pan Am & Nutley and one slow tanker from the Fairfax tank farm can back up traffic from Nutley to Fairfax Circle. Why are tankers allowed on the road here at rush hour?

I cannot divulge the routes. I used to take Cedar Lane, but now that's a mess and they are building 16 new estate homes on it and 200 other types of units (TH or Condo) off of it. Construction traffic starts before 8 AM.

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: true fact ()
Date: March 26, 2017 04:21PM

r u serious?

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Re: what parts of the county has the worst traffic congestion?
Posted by: Joke Insurance ()
Date: March 31, 2017 09:07AM

Today, I'd say that it's Braddock Road from 495 to Ox Road.

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